This review paper concentrates on carbon dioxide emissions, discussing its agricultural sources and the possibilities for minimizing emissions from these sources in wheat production in Canterbury, New Zealand. This study was conducted over 35,300 ha of irrigated and dryland wheat fields in Canterbury. Total CO2 emissions were 1032 kg CO2/ha in wheat production. Around 52% of the total CO2 emissions were released from fertilizer use and around 20% were released from fuel used in wheat production. Nitrogen fertilizers were responsible for 48% (499 kg CO2/ha) of CO2 emissions. The link between nitrogen consumption, CO2 emissions and crop production showed that reducing the CO2 emissions would decrease crop production and net financial benefits to farmers. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
